Washington: Prominent India-American CEOs, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google’s Sunder Pichai, have expressed solidarity with the African-American community. It came in the wake of violent widespread protests across the US by the custodial killing of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, was handcuffed and pinned to the ground in Minneapolis May 25. A white police officer kneeled on his neck as he gasped for breath. His death has triggered violent protests across the US, leading to the death of at least five persons. In the process over 4,000 people have been arrested. Damage to property worth billions of dollars has occurred.
“There is no place for hate and racism in our society. Empathy and shared understanding are a start, but we must do more,” Nadella, 52, said in a tweet Monday. “I stand with the Black and African American community. We are committed to building on this work in our company and in our communities,” said the CEO of Microsoft.
Microsoft also said they will be using the platform to amplify voices from Black and African-American communities at the company.
A day earlier, Google CEO Pichai also expressed solidarity with the African-American community.
“Today on US Google & YouTube homepages we share our support for racial equality in solidarity with the Black community. We do this in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery & others. We do it for those who don’t have a voice,” Pichai, 47, wrote Sunday on Twitter. “For those feeling grief, anger, sadness & fear, you are not alone. We stand in support of racial equality, and all those who search for it,” he added.
Another well-known Indian-American and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi also lent her voice. She said everyone has a responsibility to recognise ‘this pain’ and the ‘systemic racism’ that has caused it.
“This past week, we’ve seen millions of Americans vocalise their pain in protests across the nation. They were responding to the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmadu Arbery,” Nooyi said.
“As we all consider how to heal this wound, I ask that we not lose sight of the power of our voices. I’ve always believed that confronting bias publicly is essential. If you see a bad actor, say it out loud and set an example for those around you,” Nooyi added.
Violent protests have engulfed at least 140 cities across the US in the days following the death of Floyd.
Darek Chauvin, the white police officer who choked Floyd to death, has been fired. He was arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
PTI